Whilst only just completing his first season of NRL at the Gold Coast Titans it was somewhat of a breakout year for prop forward Jarrod Wallace.
Wallace appeared in 21 matches this season and from the outset was a mainstay in the front row position alongside captain Ryan James. The Runaway Bay junior averaged just under 15 carries per game and over 130m per match, enough to earn a Queensland Maroons debut in Game 2 of the series, this year.
“It was a highlight,” Wallace said. “You want to play for the maroons and it was an outstanding feeling being able to achieve that this year.”
The 26-year-old moved to the Titans in search of more minutes and a leadership role and it’s exactly what he got.
“I came to start being more of a leader and I think I achieved that.
“It was about more minutes and consistency as well. I think that I definitely did that throughout the opening 20 rounds and I’m not sure what it was, whether it was the body, or the mind but I feel I fell away a bit at the end.”
Wallace has had minor operations on his shoulder and groin, a couple of things that will slightly hamper his 2018 preparations.
“The shoulder was just a clean out and that should be good to go but it’s the groin. I probably won’t be able to run for 12 weeks, so I won’t do much running before Christmas.
“It will be a priority to get that fitness back and get back to my playing weight in the new year.”
A snapshot of Wallace’s 2017 stats:
Name |
Jarrod Wallace |
Games |
21 |
Tries |
0 |
Runs (avg) |
14.6 |
Runs (total) |
307 |
Run Metres (avg) |
135.1m |
Run Metres (total) |
2838m |
Offloads (avg) |
0.4 |
Offloads (total) |
8 |
Tackles (avg) |
32.9 |
Tackles (total) |
691 |
